2,036 stories by "Brian Logan"
Harlow PlayhouseHaving seen and rather enjoyed Paul Daniels's show in Edinburgh a few weeks ago, I'm sorry to report that the touring version is harder to love. Fifty-five minutes of 80s TV'…
Doctor Brown's shows are anarchic affairs " with a fair amount of nudity, too. But it's all about freedom, he says'Hey, dude." I've just arrived for our interview, and Doctor Brown appr…
He was the toast of Edinburgh, he's written a novel and he's had a play put on at the RSC. Yet, comedian Russell Kane is prone to rages and plagued by doubtTen years ago, before he'd even dr…
He was the toast of Edinburgh, he's written a novel and he's had a play put on at the RSC. Yet, comedian Russell Kane is prone to rages and plagued by doubt Continue reading...
Wembley Arena, LondonNot for the first time, Lee Evans ends with a song: a ballad this time, about an entertainer who sacrifices his personal life to make others laugh. Is it autobiographica…
Hexagon, ReadingAt the start of his new show, Hello Ladies, Stephen Merchant displays a photograph with which the Guardian illustrated The Office's triumph at the 2004 Golden Globes. His co-…
Soho theatre, London"What disease did Ben and Jerry give to all the prostitutes in their hometown of Waterbury, Vermont?" Questions such as this give a glimpse into the festering mind of Nei…
Old Naval College, Greenwich"Better glance up every five seconds," says compere Dan Atkinson. In a big top in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, an overhead cable has fallen into th…
The nights are drawing in, and we all need a laugh. Let Stewart Lee, Stephen Merchant and Russell Kane put a smile on your faceStephen Merchant"I really am mediocre [at standup]," Stephen Me…
The Caves, Edinburgh"I hate the internet!" Sanderson Jones is streaming a song he's found online " and the woman who recorded it, for her private pleasure, squirms with embarrassment on the …
Pleasance Dome, EdinburghFrom Penny Dreadfuls to straight-to-DVD movies: Thom Tuck's appetite for pulp knows no bounds. Like his Dreadfuls cohorts Humphrey Ker and David Reed, Tuck has now t…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghStandup was once the art of telling jokes. Now, it's as likely to be the art of doing something improbable, and reporting back. Dave Gorman usually gets credit …
Comedian with a 'fearless level of audience engagement' beats joint-favourite Nick Helm to most prestigious standup prize in UKHis show invites the audience to play swingball and impersonate…
Underbelly, EdinburghWhen David Cameron calls it "broken Britain", he's invoking moral decay and blaming the poor. When performance poet Luke Wright does so " his title quotes the phrase " h…
Voodoo Rooms, EdinburghThe one-person, multi-character hour is a favourite of female comics on the fringe; Catherine Tate and Laura Solon, among others, launched in just that format. Now Car…
Assembly, George Square, EdinburghThere are more topical jokes in Andrew Maxwell's set than practically every other fringe show I've seen, combined. And it's not the facetious twittering tha…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghOffermation, Chris Ramsey tells us, is useless or unwanted information, shoved under your nose whether you like it or not. Modern life teems with the stuff, and…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghIf you have a horror of audience participation, you might choose to avoid Adam Riches's new show. But you'd miss a lot of fun. Riches is a chaos conductor, a ri…
Assembly George Square, EdinburghElsewhere on the fringe, sketch troupe Kieran and the Joes' spoof Milgram experiment purports to show how easily we can be induced to do terrible things. Som…
The untrammelled silliness of Adam Riches gets my vote for this year's Edinburgh comedy award, with Hannibal Buress for best newcomer, but it's a shame sketch comedy is missing from the main…
Just the Tonic @ The Store, EdinburghThe life-coaching seminar has proved rich terrain for parodists over the years; Will Adamsdale's take on it won the If.Comedy Award back in 2005. This ye…
Assembly George SquareGlenn Wool has been given a hero's welcome on his return to Edinburgh after a three-year absence. I don't quite share the clamorous enthusiasm with which some have gree…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAged 10, Isy Suttie released a balloon from her garden, with a plea for a pen pal inside. She hoped it would reach Australia " but instead, it reached 25-year-o…
Pleasance CourtyardJigsaw are three standups gathered to perform full-pelt sketch comedy. You'll see better acting in the primary school nativity, and there's zero experiment with sketch-sho…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghHalf the comedians in Edinburgh are performing in Portakabins " or worse. Might as well make a virtue out of necessity. And so, Henry Paker has set his show in …
